Old Endings and New Beginnings
by XxFallenWarriorxX
Summary: A new cat has stumbled onto the junkyard. Former clan cat, now a loner. She's determined to start her new life, but what difficulties lie ahead for the young and fragile cat? Her future seems bleak, but only time can tell...


**Ello peoples! ^^ Lexi here, with a brand new story for ya to read. It is (obviously) a Warriors story. But its not gonna be focused on a clan cat. Its gonna be focused on a little loner. This was kinda inspired by one of the characters I rp on a Warriors rp site. I lurv to rp. Its fun =3 Anywho, enjoy!**

Running. All my life, running is what I've done. Run away from those trying to harm me, run away from my fate, run away from what I know to be truth. I've run away from all of my fears. Which is what I was doing now. Running. Plant stems and leaves whipped across my cheeks, cutting into my skin. Thorn bushes tore down my flanks. Sharp stones sliced my pads. But I couldn't afford to care. I had to put the pain on hold, for my life was on the line.

I'm Leafpaw. Former Ashclan cat, now a loner. Living on my own...or at least trying to. I am six moons, and I have not been trained to fight. I was trained to heal. Which was the only way I had probably made it this far, was with my healing abilities. I had picked up on it fast, and learned a lot in my short apprentice-ship.

I forgot to mention, Ashclan is different from the other clans I've heard about. Cats start their training as soon as they're weaned from their mother's milk. Your first bite of fresh kill, was also the day you started a new, and horrid, path on life. Training was somewhat easy at first. Sure, the Fighters knocked you around, but hey, at least they kept their claws in for a while. Now, a Healer's apprentice was trained differently. They had two mentors, the Healer, and the Leader. The Healer taught the herbs and medicines, while the Leader taught fighting strategies. But the most important, was the extra thing you learned from the Healer. Evasion. Yes, Healers and their apprentices were expected to hunt and fight, so it was vital that they learned evasion. If a Healer fell in battle, the rest of the clan was in deep trouble. The evasion training had to have been the harshest out of all the training. The Healer _never_ held back._ Ever._ They came at you with all they had, claws unsheathed and teeth bared. You learned the hard way in Ashclan. When the Leader felt you were ready to become a full Fighter, you were to face another apprentice, and battle. To the death. Whoever won, was the one who passed.

The cruel ways of Ashclan probably explained all of my scars. One horizontal dash across my muzzle. A shredded, but still functioning, right ear. Multiple scars started under my chin and scored down my throat. Slashes went across my back and down my flank. But the most prominent? The huge X-shaped scar that branded my chest. My scars will forever remind me of the past, and all of the lessons that have been carved into my mind. _Never_ disobey an order, was one of them. You would live to regret it.

As I said, I'm Leafpaw. A small, slender framed, she-cat. Bright ginger and snowy white fur, and bright green eyes to match. That is how I usually looked, anyway. Right now, my coat was matted, blood-spattered, mostly my own blood, and dull. Along with my eyes. They weren't their usual bright green. They too, had dulled with fear and hunger. My pelt clung to my sides, outlining all of my ribs, and my spine. I was running from yet another rogue. His menacing laughs crept after me, surrounding me. He twisted easily through the abandoned woods as I stumbled awkwardly through them. Every once and a while, I would hear the click of his teeth behind me, just missing my tail. His paw flicked out, just barely missing my hind leg.

Finally, I saw my escape. I just had to make it out to the junkyard. That was the main place were all of the rogues and loners gathered around. If I made it there, I had the chance of someone else defending me. I heard a snarl behind me. He knew what I knew.

Crashing through the last trees, I burst out into the open, letting out a yowl, causing some of the gathered cats to swing their heads my way. I raced across the small stretch of land that separated the junkyard fence and the woods. I scrambled under one of the holes in the rusted fence, blood spilling from my back and flanks as the sides dug into my skin, and charged into the junkyard. The rogue chased me still, and I wove my way through a small group of cats, and dove under a twoleg monster, flattening myself to the ground, my wide green eyes staring back at the rogue. Staring at his paw reaching under the monster, claws unsheathed and reaching toward me. And then, he was gone. Another cat had come over and pulled him away, now he was backed against a fence, a few junkyard cats surrounding him. With a final glare to my refuge, he whirled around and whisked out of the junkyard.

Most of the cats resumed what they were doing before, but one trotted over to the monster. It was a stormy gray tom, with kind, mellow, eyes that were a warm amber color. Crouching down, he looked at me underneath the monster.

"Hey," he meowed, "he's gone now. You can come out."

I hesitated. What if he tried to hurt me too?

"C'mon! I'm nice. I promise." he grinned.

I crept a little closer to the edge of the monster, my ears pressed against the fur that lined my skull.

"Thats it. I don't bite." he laughed a little, sitting up and curling his tail around his paws.

I finally crawled out from underneath the monster, and looked around apprehensively for anyone else who would try to attack me.

"I'm Infinity." he stated, flicking his ears.

"Leafpaw..." I murmured back.

His amber eyes narrowed, and he prodded my flank with a paw. "You a clan cat?" he asked bluntly, with an edge to his voice. I had forgotten that loners and rogues didn't like clan cats.

"N-no." I stammered. "I used to be an apprentice of Ashclan, but I ran away." I finished, averting my gaze.

That was all it took, and he smiled again, nodding. "Good. You don't smell like a clan cat anymore." his gaze raked over me thoughtfully, and he went on, "But that name could get you into trouble. You should change it."

I blinked at Infinity. "Change it...? To what...?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders in a somewhat bored manner, "I dunno. It could be a name that you like, or a name that you think fits you."

Looking down at my paws, I thought about his words. Then, looking back up at him, I simply said, "Shattered Echo." It represented me. I was born just as strong as anyone else, but then, me, and my voice, were shattered. I became nothing more than an echo in the world, but my voice still crept among it.

The tom looked at me, then nodded approvingly. "Shattered Echo. I like it. Cats can call you either Shattered or Echo for short."

I nodded, smiling slightly, despite my blood-soaked fur. I had finally started over. The last traces of my old clan life were gone, even though the scars still remained. I was no longer Leafpaw. I was Shattered Echo, and I have no idea what lies ahead of me. All I can do, is hope for the best, but brace myself for the worst.

**Well...? Watdidja think? Did I do good? Bad? Review! I accept anonymous reviews. *hint hint* Constructive criticism is welcome. And if anyone has any ideas for characters that I might be able to twist into the story, feel free to share them. And names. Names are always welcome. I like dramatic names though. Like, Phobia, Comatose, Oblivion and such. However, feel free to leave things like Ember or something like that that isn't too common. I don want to see things like, Misty, or Fluffy or something along those lines.** **As I was saying, review! It helps a lot. Feel free to share any ideas for later on if you've been dying to share them. Until next time, Adios!**


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